Cherry Lipstick
by Perle de Nacre
Summary: Late Valentine's day request. Here you go. Triple chocolate, explorations, cute gift and... cherry lipstick 8) Requested by Deb. Illustration by mako.draws


I'm back with the longest thing I've written yet lol. Took me 2 days to finish because of work OTL

Requested by Deb! Thank you dear I hope you'll like it 3

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The shops were decorated with all sorts of ornaments full of hearts, cupids, and pretty much everything love related, which wasn't much to Eva's taste. However it was the last time she'd have to deal with it since the big day had finally arrived.

« Wow, I can't believe it's Valentine's day already. Time really flies when you live on another planet. »

She gazed up at Jordan looking everywhere excitedly. He was always this way whenever he came back on Earth. Always cheerful like a child in an attraction park. She couldn't blame him for that at all and it was kind of refreshing to see someone who didn't lose their interest in everything. She smiled absently. She missed her partner.

She had grown up a lot since the Great Race had ended. She had taken a lot of time off to reconnect with her Dad and finally make peace with herself.

Three years had passed since Oban and she also changed a lot physically. First, she was definitely taller. Her hair was a bit longer, laying on her shoulders and even though they were mostly black now she liked the red so much she had decided to keep a few strands of it. _A relic of the past_ , she thought. She was way more girly than before but she was not the girl who would spend three hours in the bathroom every morning. Some concealer to hide the eye bags left by the days working with Stan and Koji on their new baby, a final touch of mascara from times to times. If she had to go out at night, she would simply put some eyeliner and that was it.

She didn't feel comfortable nor skilled enough to look pretty, she had never even thought about it. She was so focused on finding her dad that contrary to other girls of her age, makeup and boys never really mattered. Even on Alwas when she had her first crush on Aikka, she had just enjoyed the feeling. It was new and nice, she liked the butterflies in her stomach whenever he smiled at her. Now, she knew that she only saw him as a close friend. Plus, he was soon to be married to his chosen fiancee that he liked very much, which made Eva happy as well.

She would say that she did have some success with boys though. A few guys had already asked her out but after the catastrophic first time she went out with one of them, she decided it just wasn't worth trying. Maybe she had high standards but none of them could compete with Aikka… or Jordan, for that matter.

Jordan came to visit her once in awhile, when the creators weren't too hard on him. He was an Avatar in training, however he was still the Avatar and he made it clear that if he needed to go back home for a while, he would just do that.

The pilot loved to spend time with her partner. She could talk about anything she wanted because Jordan would understand. He had been with her during the whole adventure after all. Now whenever he was free to come they would spend afternoons and evening hanging out normally, eating fast food and playing video games or they'd hang out at her place or Miguel's workshop.

She liked his laugh, his smile… his selflessness above all.

The moment when he confessed would sometimes repeat itself in her mind and she remembered it like it was yesterday. Despite the first impression he gave to peoplel, Jordan was extremely kind and caring. And handsome, she had eventually realized. Contrary to before, she'd notice every single time their hands touched, or the warmth of his gaze on her that was a bit too long to be normal for simple friends. And she loved it, a lot. She felt important, almost special. She had started to feel embarrassed now and then when they were physically too close but it's not like the gunner boy would have noticed it. If he was kind and gentle, he was also pretty slow.

However, when Jordan had invited her to hang out that day, she had decided to take some actions… which was easier to say than to do, really. She wasn't used to show this kind of feelings and she didn't feel like she would ever get used to it. She actually felt stupid, standing here with her hair done, a strand of it was attached by a hair clip she had received as a gift on her eighteenth birthday. It had the earth team logo on it. She had even added some reddish lip gloss and she didn't know how to feel about it. At least it had a cherry taste which made it easier to wear.

Anyway, today was special because Eva had a plan and going to the movie theater like any other couple wasn't her cup of milk and about that, she actually just wanted to grab drinks for the place they'd go to next.

« Let's not spend too much time here! We're not staying. »

They started queuing to get their drinks.

« Where are we going ? »

« Not telling ya. »

He gasped exaggeratedly, grabbing his shirt.

« A surprise for me ?! I didn't know Valentine's Day was such a good opportunity for you to try and steal my innocent and pure heart ! » She smirked at the goofy boy, still clutching his chest like he suddenly had trouble breathing.

« Actually, I'm pretty sure you were the one to ask me out today, gunner boy. » She said, poking his forehead lightly.

« Yeah ! But it's something that we do normally and I truly forgot that today was Valentine's Day... let's say I always have a good timing. » he laughed somewhat proudly.

« Anyway, let's hurry. Oh, I'll get the usual. I guess you're up to taste the Valentine's Day special? Triple chocolate. »

He winked at her « You know me well, partner. »

 _Let's say I know your stomach well_ , she got their drinks and hurrying back to Eva's new rocket seat. It was a bit bigger than the one and way more comfy. She had kept the old one of course because too many memories were attached to it. She drove for approximately an hour and the city slowly disappeared behind them while new sceneries were taking place before their eyes. Soon after that, they were surrounded by fields in the countryside.

She took a small path leading to forest between the trees. The sun licking their skin between the leaves made Eva shiver slightly. She was glad she could come here with her partner, holding tightly her waist (even if it was way less tight than when they went exploring on Alwas the first time, thank the creators for that.) and if she wasn't so troubled herself she could swear she was feeling her partner's heart beating quickly against her back.

A bit further in the woods, she stopped her rocket seat and liberating her head from her helmet, she looked around. As always the place seemed desert.

« So that was your plan ! Driving me so far away that no one would hear me scream... You won't get away with this! »

She punched his arm.

« Of course not, you idiot. » she grinned at him cracking up. « We have to walk now, it's just down there. »

She grabbed his hand sloppily without looking at him - she wouldn't be able to keep a straight face anyway - and leaded him to a few small stairs made of rocks. She lightly pushed the branches keeping them from going further down.

There, in the middle of the forest was an absolutely beautiful glade. The grass was sprinkled with flowers of all kinds of colors despite the cold February weather. In the middle of it was standing a robust weeping willow, its branches so long they were almost touching the ground. However the most eye catching part of this small heaven on earth was the lake at its foot, on which the sky was reflecting, seeming almost like a door to the afterworld. That place was magical in a way that made him feel very, very small. It had been too long since he felt like a standard human.

Eva broke the silence. « So ? What do you think ? I haven't been there in a while so I'm glad it didn't change much. »

« It's absolutely stunning. How did you find this place ? »

« I used to run away from my boarding school whenever things were a bit too hard on me. I found this place… by chance to be honest. »

They made their way towards the big tree.

« Wow... I see. »

« It kinda has an Oban vibe to it doesn't it ? That's why I like coming here. »

Jordan turned back to face her.

« After we came back, I did my research and found this place again. To go to when I need breaks you know. »

He saw her eyes looking for a spot on the trunk, and she seemed to find it because she placed her hand somewhere, caressing the surface. Her hand revealed a few letters grossly carved in it. It said « no way back ».

« Molly… »

« It's fine. I was just really mad that day. » she placed her hand on the trunk once more. « The poor tree didn't deserve that, though. »

Jordan placed her hand over hers without thinking and she could do anything the surface under their skin started to glow. It felt warm and smooth for half a second before it went back to the usual rough and cold surface. Eva looked at the tree trunk curiously and as she hoped, the carved inscription had completely faded into the wood.

"There's always a way back." he said, rubbing a hand affectionately on her back.

"Thanks, partner. It looks better this way." shuddering a bit under the cold wind, she tells him they better leave soon before it got too frisky.

« Oh, before I forget ! » he searched for something in his bag and took a small box out of it. Blushing a bit yet smiling he handed it over to the young girl and said « Happy Valentine's Day, Eva ». She took it, feeling her cheeks warm up a bit. She wasn't used to hear her real name in Jordan's mouth.

« Oh… thanks, I don't have anything to give you though. »

« Hey ! It's totally fine. You showed me this amazing place ! Why don't you open it ? I'm kinda really stressed out to see if you're gonna like it or not so… » he said impatiently.

Eva raised an eyebrow at him but conceded and opened the small box. It was a thin necklace made of extremely light pink gold from where was hanging a pendant made of some sort of white crystal. She held it up and exclaimed « Wow… it's beautiful. »

« The coolest thing about it is that the stone you see here » he said pointed at the pendant « is made from local rock on Oban. From a place we've never been to together but, I hope I can show it to you sometimes because it's really pretty… It reminded me of you. »

She stared back at him, trying to find something to answer but she was taken aback by the way he was looking at her. The butterflies were back and she wasn't sure if her stomach was ready for that.

« I also tried some magic on it to connect us whenever, you know, you feel like talking or hanging out… just hold the stone in your hand and call me. If I didn't mess anything up it should work just fi-»

He was interrupted by the young girl, enlacing his neck tightly. It meant so much to her that he had spent time to think of such a wonderful gift. Oban was still a vivid memory in her mind yet she didn't think she would be able to physically touch anything coming from there ever again. Not to mention it was their official way to communicate now and she had been waiting for this kind of link for so long. Her voice strangled with emotion and muffled in Jordan's neck made the « Thank you » she let out almost inaudible but she knew he heard her by the way he held her back just as tightly.

She let him go after a while turned her back to him.

« Can you help me put it on ? »

He eagerly agreed and as she was holding her hair up, he gently attached the necklace, brushing lightly against her skin and making her shiver a bit. « So, how do I look ? » she said, posing comically.

« You're perfect » he answered, laughing though his tone was a bit too sincere. A flash appeared briefly in his eyes and she knew too well what it meant. « Hm, I'm gonna have to leave soon but I'll see you off to your place first ! » She nodded, it wasn't like they had a choice anyway.

After an hour on the road that seemed to last a hundred times longer than the first one, they were back in the city. She parked and they started to walk towards Eva's building, chatting about what they should do next time he could come hang out with her, their hands brushing against each other from times to times. Eva gathered her remaining courage and caught his hand, entwining her fingers with the boy's. She felt him jump a bit next to her, however she kept talking normally and the tension dissolved itself naturally. Her chest was filled with an unknown warmth that she wasn't too sure what to call. It was nice. The distance to her place never felt so short and before they realised it they were already standing in front of her apartment. Eva reluctantly detached her hand from Jordan.

« Well, take care of you there. Thanks a lot for today and for your gift… I'll make it up to you. » She winked at him, sealing her promise.

« I'll look forward to it ! » He winked back.

He was only a few centimetres away this time and he lowed his head down to kiss her good bye on the cheek. That was when Eva decided she could not wait anymore and turned her face to let her lips meet his tenderly.

It only lasted a few seconds but surprise had Jordan paralysed, still staring at Eva wide eyed. She was holding his gaze, with her usual determined look even though she was blushing just as much. They didn't say anything for a while, but the young girl broke the silence.

« Hm…You might wanna get rid of that. See ya. »

Jordan watched her disappear behind the door just as mesmerised and wondering what was « that » she was referring to. Holding his hand to his mouth, he understood what she meant at the sight of the remaining lipgloss and instead of rubbing his hand over it, he just licked his lips and smiled.

She tasted like cherry.

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I'm so tired I don't have much to add in notes. D: I wanna write more flufffff.  
I'd appreciate if anyone commented here because I really did my best and I got absolutely not kudos/commented on my last one. haha... ;w;

Thanks for reading !


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